Huwebes, Setyembre 1, 2011

The Importance of Attitude

 One of the most important factors in determining our success in life is our attitude.

Attitude is a mental state relative to what we believe and affects our entire lives. We express our attitude in our words and actions. It is a habitual way of thinking that can either lean towards an optimistic or pessimistic viewpoint.  Whether your thinking is “full-glass” or “empty-glass” in nature, you have the ability to choose your own attitude.

Attitudes are greatly influenced by association which means they are contagious. The best way to develop a positive mental attitude is to surround yourself with optimists.  Positive people have a magnetic influence which attracts help and support that assist them in achieving their goals.  They have developed a ‘can do’ attitude and a resilient nature that propels them forward.

Once you begin to condition your thinking, you will develop a positive mental attitude that will greatly accelerate your future success.

Importance in Health
Experts know that a positive attitude is necessary for successful diabetes care. We nod in agreement, but have we really looked at why?
People persevere at activities they believe are possible. Convinced they have the ability to complete a task, they are willing to attempt it. Uncertain, or sure of their own inability, they will defer to others instead. The diabetic who trusts his or her own abilities to self-manage will be more diligent in self-management ("I can do this!") than one who does not. The blind diabetic who knows he or she is fully capable of participating in mainstream society, with full equality, will work hard to achieve that goal.


And there is the "stress" element. This same well-prepared diabetic, comfortable with the responsibilities and techniques of self-care, will meet potential crises with the correct responses, free from panic, and from the frantic scrambling ("What do I do NOW?") that turns little ones into big ones, and not incidentally dumps adrenalin into the blood, making good control that much more of a challenge.


Attitudes are taught. We communicate our judgments of others' abilities in many ways. If we are in positions of authority (parent, teacher, instructor), our attitudes shape others' opinions of their own abilities, and thus their willingness to act. Teachers have known for years that the student who is taught he or she can will outperform those taught they cannot; that expectations shape performance.


Attitudes about the limited abilities of blind individuals have been with us for millennia. Even today, blind diabetics still hear pronouncements like: "A blind person can't possibly do that..." or "You won't live long enough..." Such statements, from well-meaning individuals, do a lot of damage. Remember, if you believe you already have the answers, however bleak they may be, you don't ask questions. The blind diabetic who has been taught by the professionals, word and deed, that he or she is incapable, needs sighted assistance, and faces a shortened lifespan, is not likely to struggle mightily against such pronouncements. Great accomplishments come from people who believe in their own abilities.


There is every reason to make the achievement of positive attitude an important part of diabetes care. We have the technology; we have the medications; this is the "human factor." There are more choices, more options, and more ways to cope than ever before; and today no one, regardless of ramifications, needs to be relegated to a second-class life. Independence, full participation, and vocational success are achievable. Diabetes, at any level, is a discipline--and positive attitude is an integral part of successful self-management.


Importance in Everything

The process of human change begins within us. We all have tremendous potential. We all desire good results from our efforts. Most of us are willing to work hard and to pay the price that success and happiness demand.

Each of us has the ability to put our unique human potential into action and to acquire a desired result. But the one thing that determines the level of our potential, that produces the intensity of our activity, and that predicts the quality of the result we receive is our attitude.

Attitude determines how much of the future we are allowed to see. It decides the size of our dreams and influences our determination when we are faced with new challenges. No other person on earth has dominion over our attitude. People can affect our attitude by teaching us poor thinking habits or unintentionally misinforming us or providing us with negative sources of influence, but no one can control our attitude unless we voluntarily surrender that control.

No one else "makes us angry." We make ourselves angry when we surrender control of our attitude. What someone else may have done is irrelevant. We choose, not they. They merely put our attitude to a test. If we select a volatile attitude by becoming hostile, angry, jealous or suspicious, then we have failed the test. If we condemn ourselves by believing that we are unworthy, then again, we have failed the test.

If we care at all about ourselves, then we must accept full responsibility for our own feelings. We must learn to guard against those feelings that have the capacity to lead our attitude down the wrong path and to strengthen those feelings that can lead us confidently into a better future.

If we want to receive the rewards the future holds in trust for us, then we must exercise the most important choice given to us as members of the human race by maintaining total dominion over our attitude. Our attitude is an asset, a treasure of great value, which must be protected accordingly. Beware of the vandals and thieves among us who would injure our positive attitude or seek to steal it away.

Walang komento:

Mag-post ng isang Komento